The Witch of Eye
by Ulysses Ward
Summary: "There was a Beldame called the Witch of Eye, Old Mother Madge her neighbors did her name who wrought wonders in countries by heresy. Both fiends and fairies her charming would obey, and dead corpses from grave she could uprear. Such an enchantress, as that time had no power."-Offical Historical Account, 1441.


Greyson Salas was exhausted. It had been a particularly long day at the Obliviator Office where he worked. Earlier this morning a young muggle girl was hit by a car in the middle of a busy London street. She would have died within minutes if not for the well-intended, but ultimately foolish efforts of a noble wizard. The child, who was certainly never going to walk again if by some miracle she survived, was suddenly up and running back into the arms of her mother after a man in strange clothing waved a wooden stick over her body.

In this situation, the best Obliviators could do would be to pass this off as some sort of "religious event." There were hundreds of witnesses, and the bloody phones the muggles carried could send pictures and videos of legitimate magic to millions of people across the globe. The entire office had been on this case all day, and only just managed to prevent the twenty-four hour news cycle from asking too many questions. After several long hours of work, the worst case scenario would be more people going to church this Sunday.

There would of course be conspiracy theorists overanalyzing any video of the event for years, but their claims would be about "government cover-ups" or "reptilian aliens." Greyson almost felt sorry for those obsessed, internet investigators. If only they knew what was _really_ hiding within their society.

It was astounding the International Statue of Secrecy was still intact in 2016. Back in 2009, the Ministry made the decision that Obliviators had to write a whole new book on preventing discovery. Gone were the days of apparating into town, wiping the memory of any witnesses, and heading off to an early lunch. "Smartphone" had become an honorary swear word in the office, because they forced Obliviators to act more as muggle spin doctors than Ministry agents.

Greyson had personally spoken to the wizard who started this mess, Rory Pearce, or as he was now known as, "The Saint of Abbey Road." The Beatles probably would have sued for copyright, but everyone in the office was good with the name. After a fine from the Ministry, and a slap on the wrist, Rory was sent home. Greyson left the office soon after, satisfied with the job done today.

He apparated into the home he shared in the countryside with his fiancé, and noticed a storm was falling outside. The rain was deafening on the glass windows throughout the house. Greyson made a mental notice to see what could be done about that, but was too tired to put much thought into it.

"Gabriel!" He said, "I'm home!"

"In the kitchen!" Came the soft voice of his bride-to-be.

Greyson took the hallway on his left towards the kitchen, and saw Gabriel preparing something on the stove. He moved behind her, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and waist.

"You get that mess with the girl resolved?" Said Gabriel.

"Just about, more to be done tomorrow, but the situation isn't on fire anymore." Said Greyson, "You cooking something? I'm quite starving."

Gabriel turned to face him, and gave Greyson a quick peck on the lips, "Nothing to eat, remember we agreed to get the ritual done tonight?" She said.

Greyson sighed in disappointment, and ran a hand through his short cropped hair, "Yeah that was supposed to be tonight, I remember now."

"Good." Said Gabriel with a smile, and turned back to what Greyson now saw was a bubbling caldron.

"My love listen, I'm beyond spent for the day, could we please do this another night?" He said.

"Greyson you know how important this is to my family, and if we don't do it tonight then we'll have to wait another month!" Said Gabriel.

"I know but-"

"The Marking Ritual has been tradition for Jourdemayne witches for hundreds of years!" Said Gabriel, cutting off her betrothed, "Now it may be only a symbolic gesture, but it represents the struggle my family endured through years of abuse by institutional-"

"You're right." Said Greyson. He pulled Gabriel back towards him, and brought her into a tight hug, "I know how important this is to you love." He said.

Gabriel hugged him back, "Good, now go relax in the living room for a bit, I promise this won't take long." She said.

Greyson made his way to the living room, and sat down in the tall leather chair next to the wireless. He turned it on.

 _…worst breakout since 1996. Authorities have yet to release a list of escapees, but sources from The Prophet suggest-_

He changed the channel.

 _And it is ridiculous to even suggest it! The ramifications of unveiling are too numerous to even begin to debate and-_

 _But it's only a matter of time before the muggles discover us on their own! The Obliviators cannot keep sweeping things under the rug like they did today, and besides-_

Greyson groaned and switched the channel again, not wanting to listen to anything remotely related to work.

 _Goodwin with the Quaffle now…he looks for Johnson who's ahead of him, wow lovely pass there!_

He sighed and sank deeper into his chair. Greyson wasn't a huge Quidditch fan, but anything was better than news or politics at the moment.

He didn't have long to relax though as Gabriel soon joined him in the living room.

"Right, we're all set now so come on." She said.

Greyson groaned but rose to follow his fiancé into the kitchen.

"After it's done you can cook us a delicious, hot meal." She said.

"I have to cook?" He said playfully, "I just had one of the longest days of my career, _and_ I have to do the cooking?"

She turned gave him a proper kiss on the lips, "I know, but you're a much better chef than I and we deserve to have an edible meal after this."

Greyson laughed.

The couple reentered the kitchen, and Gabriel took charge.

"Right so there's three parts to the ritual, and they each have to be completed in the correct order."

"Yes dear, you've explained this all before." Said Greyson.

"I know but-" She paused, "Anyway let's just get on with it. First step is to consume raw Thestral meat."

"Ah, so you did prepare something for me to eat." Said Greyson.

"I'm afraid it won't be particularly appetizing." Said Gabriel.

She handed Greyson a small slab of a black, stringy looking meat. He took it from her, but before eating it he looked back at Gabriel.

"Can we just acknowledge that this is a bit strange?" He said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when most blokes get married they'll have to plan a wedding, or meet a bunch of family they don't care about, or buy some drapes. But I have to perform an ancient ritual that was really more of a curse for the men marrying Jourdemayne wit-"

"The actual curse part was ended two hundred years ago, like I said, it's just symbolic now. Besides, if you go through with it my mother will probably stop hating you."

"Doubtful." Said Greyson.

"Well _I'll_ certainly appreciate you doing it, shows you really care about me and my family's history." Said Gabriel.

Greyson sighed and met her eyes, "You know I'd do anything for you." He said and ate the Thestral meat. It tasted rotten, and Greyson had to clamp his mouth shut to keep from spitting it out. He barely chewed the wretched sample as he forced it down his throat.

"That was fuckin' disgusting." He said in between a violent gag.

Gabriel moved to comfort him, "I know love, but that was the worst part, I promise."

Greyson nodded, "What next?" He said.

She moved to the cauldron that was now covered with a heavy lid. "I've prepared a gaseous extract from Valerian root, you'll need to breath in a bit." She said.

Greyson moved closer to the cauldron, and lowered his face in preparation.

"Ready?" Said Gabriel.

"Yes."

Gabriel lifted the lid of the cauldron and a rush of steam rose up into Greyson's face. He inhaled deeply, and was surprised to discover the effects and aroma were pleasant. He felt his entire body relax, and any anxiety he still carried from the day dissipated.

"Not bad that root there." He said.

"I can tell." Gabriel said with a giggle, "You've got this stupid grin on your face now."

The couple shared their first laugh of the day together.

"One last step, and then you need to lie down for a bit."

Greyson was struggling to keep his eyes open, but nodded in agreement. Gabriel rose on her tip toes, and planted a small kiss on his cheek. She whispered something in a language Greyson didn't understand, but before he could ask what she said Gabriel was pulling him back into the living room towards the sofa.

"Alright, ritual is complete, but you're going to be groggy for the rest of the night. Best just to sleep it off." She said.

"I cnn gow uppsstairs…" Slurred Greyson.

Gabriel ran her fingers through his hair, and set him down on the sofa, "Couch is closer, and I don't think I can drag you up the stairs." She draped a blanket over him.

"Soonow 'un evilll spirrrit killsss me right?" Mumbled Greyson. His eyes were closed when Gabriel responded.

"I told you love, the actual curse part of the ritual was abolished a long time ago. Get some rest now." She said.

"Ifuurgot't mkke dinner." He said.

"That's okay dear, you can do it when you wake up."

Greyson needed no further encouragement, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

He was still a bit groggy when he woke up, but lucid enough to move around safely. Greyson checked the clock. It was one in the morning. He had been asleep for more than five hours, and it was odd Gabriel hadn't woken him up earlier.

"Gabriel!" He called, "Are you still awake?"

There was no reply, and Greyson immediately berated himself.

 _Of course she's not awake you idiot, it's one in the bloody morning._

Greyson began walking towards the back sitting room, and the stairs to the master bedroom when he heard a noise coming from the other side of the house. He stopped and listened to see if he could hear it again, but was met with silence. The rain had stopped, but Greyson figured it could have been lingering wind from the storm.

He turned to resume his trek upstairs when he heard the noise again. Greyson froze. The noise was the distinct sound of a human voice, but it was so faint he couldn't make out what it was saying.

"Gabriel is that you?" He called.

No answer.

Greyson turned and headed towards the direction of the noise. The house was dark, and the nearest light switch was in the kitchen. As he stepped onto the ceramic flooring he heard the noise again, clearer this time.

" _lls aat z hn' b md no"_

It was definitely a voice, "Hello?" Greyson called.

Silence.

Greyson flicked on the light switch, and squinted as his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room. After collecting his thoughts he reasoned Gabriel must have fallen asleep listening to the wireless in the back bedroom. He smiled and figured he'd go and join her in bed.

The hallway leading to the two back bedrooms and the office was extremely narrow. It was such a tight fit that only one person could walk through at a time. It was another problem Greyson wanted to fix when he and Gabriel began renovations. The house they purchased together was older, and in a bit of disarray, but the important part was it was theirs.

 _"lle haat iz hdn be mde now."_

The voice on the wireless was louder, and Greyson could pick out more details. It was an airy voice, and sounded like someone was trying to shout while still whispering. It was very different from the normal tone and cadence of a wireless announcer.

 _What in the world was she listening to?_

He made it to the office door, and the light switch next to it. He thought about flicking it on, but didn't want to wake up Gabriel. The bedroom door was only twenty paces or so away, and he figured he'd be alright without some light. Greyson was halfway down the last stretch of the hall when he heard the voice again.

 _"Llt whaat is hddn' be made no"_

He froze. The voice was incredibly creepy, and Greyson began to have doubts if it was coming from the wireless. A chill ran down his spine, and for a brief moment he considered running back down the hall and out of the house. He took a couple deep breaths and composed himself.

 _Gabriel makes that soft snore when she sleeps sometimes. Combine that with the wireless, and the wind from outside, and it makes that "voice" you're hearing. Nothing more._

Greyson forced himself to continue down the hall, and made it right to the door of the second back bedroom.

 _"llet whaat is hdden be made no."_

Greyson jumped. The voice sounded like it was right next to him! He turned around.

Nothing was there.

He took a couple more deep breaths, and leaned his head on the bedroom door.

 _It's probably just that bloody ritual that's got my nerves all shot, and making me panic. Just relax. Breath. Valerian root muddles with your senses right?_

Greyson took a final deep breath, and pushed open the door to the bedroom.

The room was dark, so he couldn't see much. The first thing he noticed though was the wireless on the side table was turned off. Greyson felt his skin start to crawl as he moved closer to the bed.

It was empty.

The covers were pulled neatly across the pillows, and there was no indication anyone had been sleeping in it tonight. Greyson's stomach dropped.

 _"Let what is hidden be made known."_

Greyson whirled around and saw the source of the voice.

A tall figure was standing in the doorframe. His face and finer details were covered in shadow, but Greyson could tell it was a large man with mangled hair and filthy clothing.

Before he could scream, the shadow rushed Greyson, and slashed a long knife across his throat. Any call for help he was about to make was replaced by the sounds of a man drowning in his own blood.

Greyson caught a few more details about his assailant. The man smelled like a rotting sewer, and had cold, calculating dark eyes. Greyson tried to speak once again, but only succeeded in coughing up more blood.

The man turned and slowly walked out of the bedroom, and Greyson Salas's last thought was of his fiancé.


End file.
